Louisville-based contractor is accused of stealing tens of thousands of dollars from his clients and a local business.
Michael Sean Flanagan has been arrested several times over the past few years, including in early September when he was jailed on theft charges.
This came after complaints from a customer and a local business.
Corrie Urhammer and his wife, Roxane Jackelen, needed their deck fixed in October 2022. They hired Flanagan, who owns Flanagan Hardscaping and lives nearby, to make the repairs.
“It had dry rot, so it wasn’t safe,” Jackelen said.
They gave him $14,450 for a deposit. Flanagan was scheduled to work on the deck in March 2023, while the couple was on vacation.
“We left for Florida, got back in April, and nothing was done,” Urhammer said, adding that Flanagan stopped responding to their messages.
“He just ghosted us,” Urhammer said.
Jackelen said they can’t afford to lose that kind of money.
“We’re retired,” she said. “We’re on a fixed income.”
Earlier this year, the couple filed a lawsuit against Flanagan for breach of contract. The judge ruled in their favor, ordering Flanagan to pay back the money, with interest. Flanagan signed an agreement to do so, but wrote this statement: “I never committed any crimes and never intended to not pay the money back.”
The couple said they have yet to receive any payments as of September 2024.
“He hasn’t even made an effort to give anything back,” Jackelen said.
Flanagan is also accused of not paying for materials he bought from a local business. Brian Watts, president of Watts Home Center, said Flanagan has been buying materials from his shop for five years. He said Flanagan now owes him about $45,000 for merchandise he received but never paid for.
“I might as well pile up $45,000 and put a match to it,” Watts said. “It’s no different.”
To add insult to injury, Watts said he has noticed social media posts from Flanagan that have him even more upset.
“What makes it even worse — that rubs a little salt in the wound — is I work 80-plus hours a week while he owes me money,” Watts said. “He’s putting things on Facebook about going to Disney World for 10 days. He goes to every Tennessee football game that there is. He’s out having fun while I’m working.”
Watts said Flanagan took down payments from homeowners for decking and hardscape work, and then refused to respond to calls and texts.
“I think he was paying me just enough, and it was accumulating, and in the last few months he ramped it up,” Watts said. He now doubts he will ever get it back.
“I don’t think he’s going to pay anybody,” Watts said. “He even made a comment to a mutual friend about how he’s not going to pay me back.”
Urhammer and his wife ended up hiring someone else to fix their deck, but they hope their story will serve as a warning to others to do their due diligence when hiring a contractor.
WDRB has reached out to Flanagan for comment but received no response. His next court appearance is scheduled for early November.